Ross Valley Charter filing deadline is Wednesday

Ross Valley Charter School is facing a Wednesday deadline to re-invoke its entitlement under state Proposition 39 to occupy space within the Ross Valley School District. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)

A state deadline loomed Wednesday for Ross Valley Charter to reinvoke its entitlement under state Proposition 39 to occupy space within the Ross Valley School District — and the details could be contentious, officials said.

District Superintendent Rick Bagley said Tuesday he plans to do a more rigorous vetting on the charter’s in-district enrollment projections than was done in the current, first year of the charter program.

“For this year, (Ross Valley Charter) projected 189 in-district students, and, at last check, they were hovering just below 100,” Bagley said in an email. “So clearly, for whatever reason, many in-district resident families who said they were ‘meaningfully interested’ in enrolling in RVC did not actually do so.”

Charter school Principal Luke Duchene said the school’s current in-district enrollment was 105, with a total enrollment of 132.

“We have added at least six new in-district students in October, and interest continues to be strong,” Duchene said.

He said the school has had three open houses in October and has had “good attendance” at weekly tours.

“Some of those families have registered for this year after coming to a tour with the intention of looking for a change in school next year,” Duchene said. “At the current rate of enrollment we expect to fill our existing classrooms with 148 students by January.”

Bagley said he would check the projections closely when he gets the numbers Wednesday.

“Last year, we decided to accept the 189 (in-district student) projection, since we had no prior history to determine otherwise,” Bagley said. “We now have some history to work with going forward, with regard to determining the level of commitment to ‘meaningful interest’ in enrolling for 2018-19.”

Parents wary

Some parents, meanwhile, said they were uncomfortable with the charter’s efforts to pump up enrollment.

They said charter staffers were actively recruiting students at parks, at the Fairfax Farmers Market and by going door-to-door. Some parents may not realize what they are signing when a paper says “meaningfully interested,” they said.

“I and other Ross Valley parents are concerned that Ross Valley Charter may be using the Proposition 39 tool to get more space at White Hill,” said Stephen Pringle of San Anselmo. “It doesn’t appear to us that they are playing fair.

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“All we want is a fair playing field,” Pringle added. “I want those charter kids to have their own program — I just don’t support the tools and measures they’re using to get it.”

He said the current set-up at White Hill doesn’t work because “they’re running a private school within a public school,” he said. “There’s no district oversight, and there are no publicly elected board members.”

Duchene, however, said he is getting good feedback at the open houses and tours — and from existing students.

“What I find encouraging is that we are attracting a diverse group of students, with 26 percent eligible for free or reduced price lunch, and 14 percent classified as English Learners — in a community that is unfortunately becoming less socio-economically diverse,” he said.

“All of our 88 in-district families with students in grade transition kindergarten through fourth have indicated that they are planning to return next year,” Duchene added. “And, there are 62 other in-district students whose parents have attested that they are meaningfully interested in attending next year.”

Special service

Ross Valley Charter officials have maintained that they are offering a special service to area families by giving them a creative choice in how they educate their children — all within a free public school. The roots of the charter are the now-canceled Multi-Age Program in Fairfax, a multi-age elementary school program that led to formation of the charter school. After the charter was established the school board eliminated the district’s Multi-Age Program.

White Hill parent Anna Barker said she understands that charter school parents want to have a special program for their kids, but “I don’t agree they should be able to divert resources from the district,” she said.

“The majority of parents I talk with support the charter — but not Proposition 39,” she said. “(Prop. 39 space entitlement) is a detriment to a small, high-performing district like ours.”

For example, she said, the charter has pre-empted the White Hill gym on Fridays, when some White Hill students have physical education class.

“The rainy season is coming, and the (White Hill) kids won’t be able to access the gym on Fridays,” she said.

‘Disinformation’

Sierra Salin of Fairfax, whose children graduated from the MAP program, said he believes that the projected enrollment numbers at the charter school have been undermined by parents who are members of STAND (Stand With Ross Valley Schools), a grassroots group opposed to the charter.

“Because of their disinformation, the (enrollment) numbers have dropped from what they could have been,” said Salin, who said the dispute was “tearing the community apart” and that the significance of MAP’s legacy of creative and meaningful education has been lost.

“It’s a problem of empathy and narrative,” he said. “It’s time to move forward.”

But Barker said she felt the charter’s recruiting tactics were deceptive.

“They are telling prospects that they will be getting Red Hill (elementary school in San Anselmo),” she said, referring to a plan discussed at the Oct. 10 charter board meeting to rent space at Red Hill as a possible alternative to White Hill. The plan has not been approved by the district.

“I think they’re being a little disingenuous,” she said.

Enrollee list

Bagley said the district will take extra steps to verify the information on potential enrollees provided by the charter for the 2018-19 school year.

“By Nov. 1, RVC is to provide us with a list of in-district resident students who are ‘meaningfully interested’ in enrolling in the charter for 2018-19,” Bagley said.

“Along with that list, they provide us with the pertinent contact information for each family and general details — such as grade level — of each student,” he said. “We then have an opportunity to review and verify that information to determine the reasonable number of projected enrollment the charter may have,” he said.

“Ultimately, it is the projected number of in-district resident students enrolled in RVC that will determine space allocation for 2018-19,” Bagley added.

He also noted that under Prop. 39, if the charter enrollment drops below 80 in-district students, it will lose any space entitlement.

Duchene said he was not worried.

“We are very confident that parents who signed a form saying they were meaningfully interested in enrolling in our school next fall are just that,” he said. “We now have a school where families can see for themselves the unique and positive school environment we provide children.”